1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instrument for removal of a coloring matter deposit such as a nicotine-stain attached on a tooth surface caused by intake of cigarette smoke, which generally cannot be removed by a combination of a tooth brush and tooth paste; and for polishing a nail surface to attain gloss.
2. Prior Art
In the prior art, removal of a coloring matter deposit such as a nicotine-stain attached on a tooth surface caused by intake of cigarette smoke, which generally cannot be removed by a combination of a tooth brush was performed by a professional in a dentist clinic. Further, a polishing operation of a nail surface was performed using a file or the like.
When a tooth surface and a nail surface was cleaned and polished, a polishing agent was required to be daubed on a tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip, or alternatively direct on the tooth surface or the nail surface each time when a polishing operation on the tooth surface or the nail surface was performed.
A tooth surface cleaner employed by a dentist and a dental technician in a dentist clinic was of a type that an angle of a tooth surface cleaning/polishing tip shaft to a holding section was fixed, and when the tooth surface cleaner was handled in the oral cavity of a patient by himself or herself, there was difficulty in cleaning/polishing not only from the anterior teeth section to the molar teeth section but also the tongue sides and palate sides of the teeth sections therebetween. Further, when the tooth surface cleaner is operated for surface cleaning/polishing of a nail of an operator, himself or herself, there was again difficulty in cleaning/polishing the nail surface with such an instrument with a single kind of cleaning/polishing tip shaft having a fixed angle according to which of hands was more skillful than the other, or a growing direction of a nail.
A tooth surface polisher used in a dentist clinic or the like was with a cord for power supply and there was not available a compact, cordless, tooth surface cleaning polisher for which portability was considered.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an instrument enabling removal of a coloring matter deposit such as a nicotine-stain attached on a tooth surface caused by intake of cigarette smoke, which generally cannot be removed by a combination of a tooth brush and tooth paste with such ease as to use a tooth brush and enabling easy cleaning/polishing operation in the vicinity of a margin of a nail where a cleaning/polishing operation using a file or the like is difficult; and further enabling use of the instrument under any working environment adopting a cordless scheme.
It is another object of the present invention to enable a tooth/nail surface polishing operation without daubing a polishing agent used for polishing a nail surface and a tooth surface on a tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip, or alternatively direct on the tooth surface or the nail surface each time when a polishing operation on the tooth surface or the nail surface is performed.
It is still another object of the present invention to enable, when a tooth surface cleaner is handled in an oral cavity, a tooth surface cleaning tip of the tooth surface cleaner to reach every corner in the oral cavity so as to polish not only from an anterior teeth section to a molar teeth section but also the tongue sides and palate sides of teeth sections therebetween with ease and enable, when the tooth surface cleaner is used for nail surface cleaning/polishing, easy cleaning/polishing of portions where the cleaning/polishing is difficult according to which of hands was more skillfull than the other, or a growing direction of a nail.
It is yet another object of the present invention to enable realization of a portable tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher as compact as or smaller in outer volume than a 20-cigarettes package so as to be handled in an automatic vending machine or the like which has been widely spread in public.
The present invention has been made to achieve the above objects and a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher including: a body of a cordless type having a battery and a micro-motor therein; and a demountable, tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip of a cup-like, a circular cone-like or a disc-like shape, made from rubber, soft resin or the like, mounted at a distal end of a rotary shaft of the micro-motor. By pressing the tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher to the tooth surface or the nail surface lightly, a coloring matter deposit such as a nicotine-stain attached on a tooth surface caused by intake of cigarette smoke can be removed and a nail surface can also be cleaned and polished.
A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip of a cup-like, a circular cone-like or a disc-like shape, made form rubber, soft resin or the like in the interior of which a polishing agent is stored, wherein the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip is compressed and deformed by pressing the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip to a tooth surface or a nail surface by a hand pressure to discharge an optimal amount of the polishing agent stored in the interior to a polishing surface at any desired time, thereby enabling cleaning/polishing of the tooth surface or the nail surface without daubing the polishing agent on the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip, or alternatively direct on the tooth surface or the nail surface each time of the cleaning/polishing.
A third or fourth aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher, wherein a swing angle of a rotary shaft of the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip to a holding section and a rotary shaft of the micro-motor can be adjusted to any value approximately in the range of 0xc2x0 to 130xc2x0 in exterior angle using a universal joint, gears or the like, or there are provided parts for exchange with which a swing angle of the rotary shaft of the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip to the holding section and the rotary shaft of the micro-motor can be adjusted to any value approximately in the range of 0xc2x0 to 130xc2x0 in exterior angle. With such constructions and functions, when the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip is handled in an oral cavity, the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip can clean and polish not only from an anterior teeth section to a molar teeth section but also the tongue sides and palate sides of teeth sections therebetween reaching those with ease, while when the tooth/nail surface cleaning/polishing tip is used for nail surface cleaning/polishing, easy cleaning/polishing can be realized of portions where the operation is difficult according to which of hands was more skillfull than the other, or a growing direction of a nail:, for example a surface of a foot little finger or the like.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher, wherein portability of the tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher is increased using the battery and the micro-motor; and a battery section, the micro-motor and the tip are divided into two or more parts. With such a construction, a total outer volume of the tooth/nail a surface cleaning polisher can be reduced to a volume equal to or less than, for example, a 20 cigarette package in a disassembled state.
Furthermore, portability can be increased by enabling a polishing head to be accommodated in the body. In such an aspect of the present invention, a battery holder holding a battery and a motor driven by the battery are incorporated in the body which not only is portable, but is gripped by a hand when being used in polishing. In addition to this, a coupler including a rotation output section rotated and driven by the motor is formed in the body. A head member including a polishing rotor rotating while keeping in contact with a to-be-polished surface is mounted on the coupler in a demountable manner. An accommodating space accommodating the head member demounted from the coupler is formed in the body and further, a cover is mounted on the body in a demountable manner so as to enclose the head member accommodated in the accommodating space from outside. With such a construction, a portable tooth/nail surface cleaning polisher is more compact as a whole in carrying by a person or in storage and when carrying the cleaning polisher in a bag together with a face-wash related tool case or the like, the cleaning polisher and others are not voluminous. Further, the polishing head is covered with a cover and not put into direct contact with other things; therefore, no deterrent is exerted against putting the cleaning polisher into a bag and at the same time, the cleaning polisher is clean.
In a case where a head holder fixing the head member in the accommodating space of the body is formed therein, the head member can be held in a stable manner with no rattling in carrying by a person since the head member is mounted to the head holder to be fixed in storage.
In a further modification of the present invention, the head member includes: a head arm mounted on the coupler in a demountable manner, a polishing rotor located at the distal end of the head arm and rotating while keeping in contact with a to-be-polished surface, and a rotation transmitting mechanism transmitting rotation to the polishing rotor from the rotation output section of the coupler. The head member demounted from the coupler is, similar to the above described, accommodated in the accommodating space and in this state (preferably, the head member is fixed by the head holder), a cover is mounted to the body in a demountable manner from outside. A coupling construction of the head arm and the coupler can be set, in this case, such that a swing angle of mounting of the head arm to the coupler can be selected at any of a prescribed plurality of angular positions or adjusted at any angular position. In other words, by selecting or adjusting an angular position in the head arm mounting, a direction in which the polishing rotor is directed relative to the body is varied. With such construction and function, polishing of a front side of teeth, a rear side of if teeth or a molar teeth section in an oral cavity, or nails of foot fingers, or other various portions can be performed with ease by setting a direction of the polishing rotor.